[ambam09]

Hello, everyone! My name is Amber and I am a senior in high school and a new volunteer tutor at my local library. I speak conversational French and Portuguese. Tomorrow is my first day tutoring a woman from Brazil who is an absolute beginner. I have no idea what to do for the first meeting/lesson! I am the Queen of Awkward and tend to embarass myself a lot
I would love some advice from experienced teachers if anyone has time! Thanks in advance!

[ambam09]

BUMP

[HUE]

Hi Ambam,

Congrats on the job. It should be fun!

First lessons are always important to get to know one another, especially in one-to-one lessons. Use the time to chat a bit, get a list of short term goals (Why does the woman need English?), and introduce some basic greetings and phrases for self introductions.

One other comment. Whenever teaching new target language, even easy points, make sure you devote enough time to practice the language. You have two objectives here. First, for the student to understand how and why to use the language. Second, for the student to be able to say the grammar, vocabulary, etc. smoothly. Newer teachers often make the mistake of assuming that too much practice is patronizing, and so move on before the student has a comfortable grasp of the material. Just practice the same language, and provide interesting ways to practice again and again.

Good luck!

[ICAL_Pete]

Very sound advice from Chris.

As for calming those “first time” nerves you might find these two articles useful:

Nervousness Tips

Stage Fright - Teaching for the First Time

Good luck!